Light emitting diodes (LED or LEDs) are solid state devices that convert electric energy to light, and generally comprise one or more active layers of semiconductor material sandwiched between oppositely doped layers. When a bias is applied across the doped layers, holes and electrons are injected into the active layer where they recombine to generate light. Light is emitted from the active layer and from all surfaces of the LED.
In order to use an LED chip in a circuit or other like arrangement, it is known to enclose an LED chip in a package to provide environmental and/or mechanical protection, color selection, light focusing and the like. An LED package also includes electrical leads, electrostatic discharge devices, contacts, solder mask, and/or traces for electrically connecting the LED package to an external circuit.
LED arrays may be less compact than desired, as they include extended non-light emitting “dead space” between adjacent LEDs. This dead space can result in larger devices, and can provide for non-light emitting structures that can absorb light and reduce the total luminous flux of the LED package. This presents challenges in providing a compact LED lamp structure incorporating an LED component that delivers light at high efficiency. Moreover, to achieve desired beam shapes, individual optical lenses are typically mounted with each LED component, or very large reflectors (larger than the form of existing conventional sources) have to be employed. These secondary optical elements (lenses or reflectors) are large and costly, and any light being reflected from the sidewalls in the packages and cavities can also result in additional optical losses, making these overall LED components less efficient. As a result, the luminance of a LED package is significantly affected by its package structure.
It is also generally observed that LED's perform best when operating temperatures are minimized. Thus, it is generally desirable to remove heat from the LED, typically by heat transfer via the substrate. One of the best ceramic substrates for heat transfer is aluminum nitride (AlN). However, with AlN as a heat transfer material in a LED package, a dark brown color results upon deposition, which absorbs visible light and reduces the total luminous flux of the package. Conventional technology is to cover as much of the heat transfer material and/or dead space areas with reflective metal, or with white soldermask to maximize reflectivity while at the same time providing heat transfer. Unfortunately, metal cannot be applied everywhere in high density LED packages due to its electrical conductive properties. Typically, a 75-150 micron gap between areas of different potential in such packages is provided, which results in significant total dead space area having, for example, dark brown AlN in proximity to the light emitting elements. Soldermask is widely used because it is photo-imagable, or screen printable, but the material properties and application methods preclude its use in all conditions. White soldermask also discolors after solder reflow or with time and with photon exposure adding to the other existing problems of lumen loss and color shift. There is also a significant amount of area (e.g., known as “canyon walls”) between light emitting elements that also absorb or poorly reflect the luminous light. These conventional solutions are, for the most part, inadequate for maximizing the total luminous flux of a solid state lighting component.